Tapping machine and tap die, and method of detecting overstroke of tap

ABSTRACT

A tapping tool is mountable on an adapter for tapping. The adapter includes a ring gear in which the tapping tool is mountable; and a gear holder in which the ring gear is disposed and which is mountable on a turret of a turret punch press so as to locate the disposed ring gear at a position corresponding to a punch mounting section formed in advance in the turret. The tapping tool includes a cylindrical body and a rotating body.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a divisional application of pending U.S.application Ser. No. 13/002,690, filed on Jan. 5, 2011, which is aNational Stage of International Patent Application No.PCT/JP2009/062347, filed Jul. 7, 2009, which claims priority to JapaneseApplication No. 2008-178029, filed on Jul. 8, 2008, Japanese ApplicationNo. 2008-238293, filed on Sep. 17, 2008, and Japanese Application No.2008-238289, filed on Sep. 17, 2008, the disclosures of which areexpressly incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a tapping machine, a die, and a methodof detecting overstroke of a tap, and specifically to: an adapter fortapping disposed and used in a turret punch press; a tapping tool; a tapdie capable of improving a discharge performance of chips generated atthe time of tapping; a method of detecting overstroke of a tap when thetap's stroke reaches or exceeds a predetermined stroke length; and a tapdie used for the method.

BACKGROUND ART

A conventional turret punch press performs punching and press working byusing punches and dies.

In the meantime, due to increasing diversity and complexity in theshapes of workpieces in recent years, there is a growing demand forperforming not only various types of punching but also various types oftapping on works by use of a single turret punch press.

The above-mentioned technique has been disclosed in Patent Document 1and Patent Document 2, for example.

Incidentally, in a conventional turret punch press, mounting sections(mounting sections for tools) provided to a turret are designed asmounting sections dedicated for punches or mounting sections dedicatedfor tapping tools, and the punching tools and the tapping tools aremounted on the mounting sections of the respective types. Accordingly,the mounting section for tapping tool is used exclusively for thetapping tools and it is therefore not possible to mount any punchingtools on the mounting section for tapping tool even in the case of aprocess using no tapping tools. Accordingly, there is a problem of adecrease in the types of tools to be loaded on the turret, which leadsto a difficulty in handling various processes with a single turret punchpress.

Meanwhile, to be specific, tapping on a plate-shaped workpiece may beperformed by subjecting the workpiece to punching to form pilot holeshaving small diameters in the workpiece and then performing tappingeither directly on the pilot holes or after subjecting the pilot holesto burring. Therefore, a punch press includes: a tap tool with a tapprovided thereto rotatably and vertically movably for performingtapping. A tap die used in cooperation with the tap tool is given at aposition below this tapping tool.

The above-mentioned technique has been disclosed in Patent Document 3,for example.

A tap die disclosed in Patent Document 3 has a configuration as shown inFIG. 1. Specifically, a tap die 505 to be used in cooperation with a taptool 503, which is used by being mounted on a punch holder 501 such asan upper turret in a turret punch press, is detachably replaceablyprovided in a die holder 507 such as a lower turret in the punch press.The tap die 505 includes a cylindrical die body 509. An inner cylinder515 is provided vertically movably inside this die body 509. The innercylinder 515 has a tap contact member 513 located on an upper partthereof and pressed downward by a tap 511 being rotatably and verticallymovably provided to the tap tool 103.

The inner cylinder 515 is always biased upward by means of coil springs517, whereby an upper surface of this inner cylinder 515 is in contactwith a lower surface of an inner flange 509F provided on an upper partof the die body 509. Further, a circumferential groove 521 capable ofbeing communicatively connected to and disconnected from an air supplyport 519 provided in the die body 509 is formed in an outercircumferential surface of the inner cylinder 515. This circumferentialgroove 521 communicates with the inside of the inner cylinder 515.

The air supply port 519 in the die body 509 is connected to an airsource 523 via a connecting path 525. A pressure switch 527 fordetecting whether the air supply port 519 and the circumferential groove521 are in a communicatively connected state or disconnected state isconnected to this connecting path 525.

Therefore, tapping is performed on a pilot hole WH in a workpiece W by:positioning the pilot hole WH formed in the workpiece W on the die body509 in the tap die 505; bringing the tap tool 503 downward by use of aram (a striker) vertically movably provided to the punch press; pressingand fixing the workpiece W onto the die body 509; bringing the tap 511relatively downward; and rotating the tap 511.

Thereafter, as a lower end (a tip end) of the tap 511 comes into contactwith the tap contact member 513 and lowers the inner cylinder 515against a biasing force of the coil springs 517, the air supply port 519is connected to the circumferential groove 521. Therefore, an airpressure inside the connecting path 525 is changed from a high pressureto a low pressure as the air supply port 519 previously in thecommunicatively disconnected state is connected to the circumferentialgroove 521, and it is hence possible to detect this change in airpressure by use of the pressure switch 527. Accordingly, when the tap511 moves up after descending from a lifted position to the lowestdescending position, it is possible to detect fracture and the like ofthe tap 511, for example, by detecting whether or not the pressureswitch 527 repeats ON-OFF-ON operations.

However, in the above-described configuration, when a tap tool providedwith a tap having a large diameter is erroneously mounted as the taptool 503 to be mounted on the punch holder 501 in the punch pressinstead of the tap tool 503 provided with the tap 511 having the smalldiameter, a stroke length of the tap having the large diameter and alarge screw pitch becomes greater even when the number of revolutions ofthe tap is the same. Accordingly, the tap is apt to lower the innercylinder 515 after the inner cylinder 515 reaches a descending end, forexample. This leads to a problem of causing fracture of the tap, damageon the tap tool, or the like.

Meanwhile, the above-described conventional configuration also has aproblem that long chips being generated at the time of tapping may twinearound the tap contact member, a problem that part of chips may enter agap between the upper surface of the inner cylinder 515 and the innerflange 509F of the die body 509, and some other problems.

PRIOR ART DOCUMENTS Patent Documents

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-75889

Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 4-53626

Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-268247

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Technical Problem

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentionedproblems. Therefore, a first object thereof is to provide an adapter fortapping which can easily handle various processes by use of a singleturret punch press, and to provide a tapping tool used for this adapterfor tapping.

A second object of the present invention is to provide a tap die whichis capable of preventing chips from twining around a tap contact memberof the tap die and of preventing chips from entering a gap between a diebody and an inner cylinder of the tap die.

Further, a third object of the present invention is to provide a methodof detecting tap overstroke to avoid fracture of a tap mounted on a taptool and damage on the tap tool by detecting overstroke of the tap, andto provide a tap die used for the method.

Technical Solution

A first aspect of the present invention to achieve the above-describedfirst object is an adapter for tapping used in a turret punch press,comprising: a ring gear in which a tapping tool is mountable; and a gearholder in which the ring gear is disposed and which is mountable on aturret of the turret pinch press so as to locate the disposed ring gearat a position corresponding to a punch mounting section formed inadvance in the turret of the turret punch press.

A second aspect of the present invention dependent on the first aspectis the adapter for tapping wherein, at least two ring gears aredisposed, each of which is equivalent to the ring gear; tooth portionsof the ring gears are separated from each other in an extendingdirection of central axes of rotation of the respective ring gears; partof the tooth portion of one ring gear out of the ring gears overlap partof the tooth portion of another one ring gear out of the ring gears whenviewed in the extending direction of the central axes of rotation of thering gears; and the gear holder is provided with an intermediate gearmeshed with the ring gears.

A third aspect of the present invention is a tapping tool mountable onan adapter for tapping including: ring gear in which the tapping tool ismountable; and a gear holder in which the ring gear is disposed andwhich is mountable on a turret of the turret punch press so as to locatethe disposed ring gear at a position corresponding to a punch mountingsection formed in advance in the turret, the tapping tool comprising: acylindrical body including a master screw formed on an innercircumference thereof and being disposed in a through-hole of the ringgear and a mounting section of the turret; and a rotating body beingconfigured to be capable of holding a tap, including a master screwformed on an outer circumference thereof so as to be threadedly engagedwith the master screw on the cylindrical body, being disposed inside thecylindrical body by threadedly engaging the master screw with the masterscrew on the cylindrical body, rotating along with rotation of the ringgear, and moving in an extending direction of a central axis of therotation.

A fourth aspect of the present invention dependent on the third aspectis the tapping tool further comprising: rotation regulating means(rotation regulator) for regulating rotation of the rotating bodyrelative to the cylindrical body when the tapping tool is detached fromthe turret.

A fifth aspect of the present invention dependent on any one of thethird and fourth aspects is the tapping tool wherein the rotating bodyis configured to be electrically insulated from the adapter for tappingand the turret when the tapping tool is disposed in the through-hole ofthe ring gear and the mounting section of the turret.

A sixth aspect of the present invention to achieve the above-describedsecond object is a tap die used in cooperation with a tap tool to bemounted on and used in a punch press, comprising: a cylindrical diebody; and an inner cylinder being provided inside the die body andincluding a tap contact member pressed downward by a tap providedvertically movably to the tap tool, the inner cylinder being providedvertically movably and biased upward, wherein an upper end of the innercylinder is provided substantially at a same height as an upper end ofthe die body; the tap contact member is formed of a plate material; andthe tap contact member is so formed that a width dimension of the tapcontact member in a vertical direction is greater than a plate thicknessdimension thereof.

A seventh aspect of the present invention dependent on the sixth aspectis the tap die wherein an upper surface of the tap contact member isprovided at a position lower than the upper end of the inner cylinder;and a lower end of the tap contact member is provided at a positionhigher than an air ejection port provided to the inner cylinder.

An eighth aspect of the present invention dependent on any one of thesixth and seventh aspects is the tap die wherein the upper surface ofthe tap contact member is formed into a curved surface whose both endsin a thickness direction of the tap contact member are made lower.

A ninth aspect of the present invention to achieve the above-describedthird object is a method of detecting overstroke of a tap mounted on atap tool to be mounted on and used in a punch press, the methodcomprising the steps of: providing an inner cylinder including a tapcontact member pressed downward by a tap provided vertically movably tothe tap tool, the inner cylinder being provided vertically movably andbiased upward inside a cylindrical die body of a tap die to be used incooperation with the tap tool; providing a plurality of upper and lowercommunicating portions in an outer circumferential surface of the innercylinder, the communicating portions each being communicativelyconnectable to and disconnectable from an air supply port provided tothe die body; providing a fluid sensor to detect states of communicativeconnection and disconnection between the air supply port and thecommunication portions, in a connecting path connecting an air source tothe air supply port; and detecting overstroke of the tap when the fluidsensor performs ON, OFF, and ON operations at the time of a descendingaction of the tap provided to the tap tool.

A tenth aspect of the present invention is a tap die used in cooperationwith a tap tool to be mounted on and used in a punch press, comprising:a cylindrical die body; and an inner cylinder being provided inside thecylindrical die body and including a tap contact member pressed downwardby a tap provided vertically movably to the tap tool, the inner cylinderbeing provided vertically movably and biased upward inside thecylindrical die body; an air supply port provided to the die body; and aplurality of upper and lower communicating portions provided in an outercircumferential surface of the inner cylinder, and being communicativelyconnectable to and disconnectable from the air supply port.

An eleventh aspect of the present invention dependent on the tenthaspect is the tap die wherein the plurality of upper and lowercommunicating portions are provided respectively to portions located atone side of a concave portion formed in the outer circumferentialsurface of the inner cylinder.

Advantageous Effects

According to the present invention described in the aforementioned firstto the fifth aspects, it is possible to achieve an effect of allowingeasy handling of various processes by use of a single turret punchpress.

In addition, according to the present invention described in theaforementioned sixth to eighth aspects, it is possible to prevent chipsfrom twining around the tap contact member and to prevent chips fromentering a gap between the die body and the inner cylinder. Therefore,it is possible to solve the above-described problem of the related art.

Further, according to the present invention described in the ninth toeleventh aspects, the fluid sensor carries out ON-OFF-ON operations whenthe tap provided to the tap tool descends and hence, it is possible todetect overstroke of the tap mounted on the tap tool. Therefore, it ispossible to solve the above-described problem of the related art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional explanatory view showing a conventional taptool and a conventional tap die.

FIG. 2 is a view showing a schematic configuration of a turret punchpress 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state of disposing, on an upperturret 9, an adapter 21 for tapping, and an adapter 23 for tapping-unitrotational drive constituting tapping-unit rotationally driving means.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of theadapter 23 for tapping unit rotary drive in a see-through manner.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the schematic configuration of theadapter 23 for tapping unit rotary drive (a perspective view which isviewed from a different angle from FIG. 4).

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of theadapter 21 for tapping in a see-through manner.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a die 27 and of a tapping tool 25 to bedisposed on the adapter 21 for tapping.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration ofthe tapping tool 25.

FIG. 9 is a view showing an IX-IX cross section in FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a plan view showing schematic configurations of the adapter21 for tapping and so forth.

FIG. 11 is a view showing an XI-XI cross section in FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a view showing an operation of the turret punch press 1.

FIG. 13 is a view showing an operation of the turret punch press 1.

FIGS. 14(a) and 14(b) are views showing operations of the turret punchpress 1.

FIG. 15 is a perspective explanatory view of a tap die according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a plan explanatory view of the same.

FIG. 17(a) is a cross-sectional explanatory view taken along aXVIIa-XVIIa line in FIG. 16 and FIG. 17(b) is a cross-sectionalexplanatory view taken along a XVIIb-XVIIb line in FIG. 16.

FIG. 18(a) is a cross-sectional explanatory view taken along aXVIIIa-XVIIIa line in FIG. 16 and FIG. 18(b) is a cross-sectionalexplanatory view taken along a XVIIIb-XVIIIb line in FIG. 16.

FIGS. 19(a), 19(b), and 19(c) are operation explanatory views of the tapdie.

FIGS. 20(a), 20(b), and 20(c) are operation explanatory views of the tapdie.

BEST MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

A mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below byusing drawings.

FIG. 2 is a view showing a schematic configuration of a turret punchpress 1, on which an adapter for tapping, a tapping tool, a tap die, andthe like based on the present invention are mounted and which embodies amethod of detecting overstroke of a tap, the tap die being capable ofimproving a discharge performance of chips generated at the time oftapping.

The turret punch press 1 includes a frame 3. Moreover, the turret punchpress 1 includes: a table 5 supporting a plate-shaped workpiece W; aworkpiece positioning device 7 used for positioning of the workpiece W;and a turret device 13 including a disc-shaped upper turret 9 on whichmultiple punches (not shown) or tapping units (tapping tools) can bedisposed (an upper turret capable of being positioned pivotally around acentral axis of rotation CL1), and a disc-shaped lower turret 11 onwhich multiple dies (not shown) or holed dies can be freely disposed inlower positions corresponding to the punches or the tapping units.

Moreover, a striker 15 striking (applying a force in a downwarddirection to) the tapping units or the punches in the upper turret 9,and a ram body 17 are provided vertically movably to the frame 3. Inorder to selectively strike the punches or the tapping units arranged ina radial direction of the upper turret 9, a striker moving mechanism 19is provided between the striker 15 and the ram body 17.

Further, tapping-unit rotationally driving means (not shown in FIG. 2)for rotationally driving the tapping units is provided on an upper partof the frame 3.

Subsequently, an adapter 21 for tapping, and the like will be described.

The adapter 21 for tapping is disposed and used on an upper surface ofthe upper turret 9 of the turret punch press 1 and includes ring gears29 and a gear holder 31.

The ring gears 29 are so configured that tapping tools 25 can be mountedon (detachably attached to) the inside thereof. The gear holder 31 is soconfigured that the upper turret 9 can be mounted thereon (detachablyattached thereto). In a state where the gear holder 31 is mounted on theupper turret 9, the ring gears 29 disposed in the gear holder 31 arelocated in positions corresponding to punch mounting sections 33 formedin advance in the upper turret 9 of the turret punch press 1.

At least two ring gears 29 (a plurality: four pieces in FIG. 6 and FIG.10) are disposed in one gear holder 31. Tooth portions of the ring gears29 are located away from one another in an extending direction ofcentral axes of rotation CL2 of the respective ring gears 29 (see FIG.11). On the other hand, when viewed in the extending direction of thecentral axes of rotation CL2 of the ring gears 29, a portion on a tipend side of the tooth portions of one ring gear 29 (e.g., a ring gear29A) out of two ring gears 29 overlaps with a portion on a tip end sideof the tooth portion of the other ring gear 29 (e.g., a ring gear 29D)out of the two ring gears 29 (see FIG. 10). The gear holder 31 isprovided with an intermediate gear 35 which is engaged with the ringgears 29.

Each tapping tool 25 is configured mountable on the adapter 21 fortapping as described above and is provided with a cylindrical body 37and a rotating body 39 (see FIG. 8).

A master screw (a female screw) 41 is formed on an inner circumferenceof the cylindrical body 37. The cylindrical body 37 is inserted to anddisposed in a through-hole of the ring gear 29 and the mounting section33 of the upper turret 9 in such a state that rotation of thecylindrical body 37 may be regulated, when the adapter 21 for tapping isdisposed on the upper turret 9.

The rotating body 39 includes a tap holding mechanism, and is soconfigured that a tap 43 can be mounted thereon (detachably attachedthereto). A master screw (a male screw) 45 threadedly engaged with themaster screw 41 on the cylindrical body 37 is formed on an outercircumference of the rotating body 39. The rotating body 39 is locatedinside the cylindrical body 37 as this master screw 45 is threadedlyengaged with the master screw 41. Meanwhile, when the rotating body 39is rotated by rotation of the ring gear 29 in a state where the adapter21 for tapping is disposed on the upper turret 9 and the tapping tool 25(the cylindrical body 37) is disposed in the through-hole of the ringgear 29 and the mounting section 33 of the upper turret 9, the rotatingbody 39 (the tap 43) moves in the extending direction of the centralaxis of rotation CL2 thereof (to move by way of the threaded engagementbetween the master screws 41 and 45).

The tapping tool 25 is provided with rotation regulating means (rotationregulator) 47. The rotation regulating means 47 regulates rotation ofthe rotating body 39 relative to the cylindrical body 37 when thetapping tool 25 is detached from the upper turret 9 and the adapter 21for tapping (the adapter for tapping disposed on the upper turret 9).Here, the rotation regulating means 47 is configured to be inactivatedso as to allow the rotating body 39 to rotate relative to thecylindrical body 37, when the tapping tool 25 is disposed in thethrough-hole of the ring gear 29 and the mounting section 33 of theupper turret 9 in a state where the adapter 21 for tapping is disposedon the upper turret 9.

Meanwhile, in the tapping tool 25, when the adapter 21 for tapping isdisposed on the upper turret 9 and the tapping tool 25 is disposed inthe through-hole of the ring gear 29 and the mounting section 33 of theupper turret 9, the rotating body 39 and the tap 43 disposed in thisrotating body 39 are configured to be electrically insulated from theadapter 21 for tapping and the upper turret 9.

The tapping tool 25 and so forth will be described further in detail.

Each ring gear 29 is formed into a cylindrical shape and provided with acolumnar through-hole at a central part thereof to mount the tappingtool 25, and teeth of a spur gear, for example, are formed on an outercircumference thereof.

The upper turret 9 is formed into a disc shape. Each punch mountingsection 33 of the upper turret 9 includes a through-hole of a columnarshape, for example, which penetrates the upper turret 9 in a thicknessdirection thereof.

When the gear holder 31 with the ring gears 29 disposed therein ismounted on the upper turret 9, the central axes of rotation CL2 of thering gears 29 extend in the thickness direction of the upper turret 9and the through-holes of the mounting sections 33 of the upper turret 9and the through-holes of the ring gears 29 substantially overlap oneanother when viewed in the thickness direction of the upper turret 9.Moreover, the central axes of the through-holes of the upper turret 9and the central axes of rotation CL2 of the through-holes of the ringgears 29 coincide with one another. Further, through-holes 21A providedin the gear holder 31 supporting the ring gears 29 substantially overlapthe through-holes of the mounting sections 33 of the upper turret 9 andthe through-holes of the ring gears 29 when viewed in the thicknessdirection of the upper turret 9 (see FIG. 11).

The ring gears 29 are located in mutually different attaching positionson the gear holder 31 but are formed substantially into the same shape.A facewidth of each of the ring gears 29 is set smaller than a halfvalue of a height of the gear holder 31 which is in a range from about ⅓to ⅕, for example. The number of teeth on the intermediate gear 35 isfewer than the number of teeth on each ring gear 29, for example. Afacewidth of the intermediate gear 35 is greater than twice of thefacewidth of each ring gear 29 but smaller than the height of the gearholder 31.

Moreover, when the ring gears 29 and the intermediate gear 35 aredisposed in the gear holder 31, an upper end of the tooth portion of oneof the ring gears 29 existing on the uppermost side in the verticaldirection (the extending direction of the central axes of rotation CL2of the gears 29 and 35) is located at the same position as an upper endof the tooth portion of the intermediate gear 35, while a lower end ofthe tooth portion of another one of the ring gears 29 existing on thelowermost side is located at the same position as a lower end of thetooth portion of the intermediate gear 35. In addition, the upper end ofthe tooth portion of the intermediate gear 35 is located at a positionlower than an upper end of the gear holder 31 while the lower end of thetooth portion of the intermediate gear 35 is located at a positionhigher than a lower end of the gear holder 31.

To put it in more detail, the disc-shaped upper turret 9 is disposedsuch that the thickness direction thereof may be defined as the verticaldirection, and is capable of freely deciding an index position pivotallyaround the central axis of rotation CL1 that extends in the verticaldirection as described previously.

The multiple columnar through-holes constituting the mounting sections33 of the upper turret 9 are formed in the upper turret 9 whileextending in the vertical direction. Moreover, these through-holes arearranged in a line or in multiple lines along a radial direction of theupper turret 9 and are provided at predetermined intervals along acircumferential direction of the upper turret 9. When the adapter 21 fortapping is not disposed, punches for performing punching, and the likecan be disposed freely in the mounting sections 33.

Here, as is already understood, the upper turret 9 in this embodiment isassumed to be disposed so as to align the thickness direction thereofwith the vertical direction, for example. Therefore, the central axes ofrotation CL2 of the through-holes constituting the mounting sections 33of the upper turret 9 and the central axes of rotation CL2 of the ringgears 29 are supposed to extend in the vertical direction.

Meanwhile, the adapter 21 for tapping is provided with four ring gears29 (29A, 29B, 29C, and 29D), for example, and is used after integrallydisposed on the upper side of the upper turret 9 at positions where fourthrough-holes (the though holes constituting the mounting sections 33:the through-holes which are adjacent to one another in the radialdirection of the upper turret 9 and adjacent to one another in thecircumferential direction of the upper turret 9) are provided in theupper turret 9, in such a manner as to cover the through-holes. Here,the number of the ring gears 29 and the like may be a plural numberother than four.

The gear holder 31 includes a lower frame 49 and an upper frame 51. Thering gears 29 are supported rotatably (so as to be rotatable around theaxes CL2) on the gear holder 31 through bearings 53. Here, in the statewhere the gear holder 31 (the adapter 21 for tapping) with the ringgears 29 disposed therein is integrally disposed on the upper turret 9by use of fasteners such as bolts, the central axes of the fourthrough-holes of the upper turret 9 and the central axes CL2 of the fourring gears 29 coincide with one another.

As described previously, each tapping tool 25 includes the cylindricalbody 37 and the rotating body 39. The cylindrical body 37 includes acylindrical outer holder 55 and a cylindrical gauge nut 57.

In the state where the tapping tool 25 is disposed in the mountingsection 33 of the upper turret 9 and the adapter 21 for tapping, theouter holder 55 is biased upward relative to the upper turret 9 by alifter spring 59 (see FIG. 11). Meanwhile, in the above state, the outerholder 55 is prevented from rotating around the axis CL2, as a key 61provided at a lower part of the through-hole of the upper turret 9 isengaged with a key groove 63 provided at a lower part of the outercircumference of the outer holder 55. That is, the outer holder 55 ismovable only in the vertical direction relative to the upper turret 9.

The gauge nut 57, on which the master screw 41 is formed, is provided atan inner side of an intermediate part, in the height direction, of theouter holder 55. The gauge nut 57 is biased upward relative to the outerholder 55 by a lifter spring 65. Meanwhile, a key groove 67 is formed inan outer circumference of the gauge nut 57. The gauge nut 57 isprevented from rotating around the axis CL2 as this key groove 67 isengaged with a key 69 provided to the outer holder 55. That is, thegauge nut 57 is movable only in the vertical direction relative to theouter holder 55.

The rotating body 39 includes: a shaft (a rain) 71 which has a lowerside formed into a cylindrical shape and an upper side formed into acolumnar shape; the tap holding mechanism to which the tap 43 isdetachably attached (the tap holding mechanism includes a columnar tapholder body 73); a shaft supporter body 75 having a lower side formedinto a cylindrical shape and an upper side formed into a columnar shape;a lower-side pressing-body supporter body 77 formed into a disc shape;an upper-side pressing-body supporter body 79 formed into a ring shape;a pressing body 81 formed into a disc shape; an inner holder 83 formedinto a cylindrical shape; and a driving block 85 formed into a ringshape. Here, a covering member 74 is formed below the shaft 71 by use ofa screw 72 so that the tap 43 can be easily attached and detached to andfrom each tap holder body 73.

The inner holder 83 and the driving block 85 are integrally fixed toeach other. The inner holder 83 and the driving block 85 are rotatablysupported on the outer holder 55 (so as to be rotatable around the axisCL2) through bearings 87 so as to allow the inner holder 83 to enter theinside of an upper part of the outer holder 55 and to allow the drivingblock 85 to protrude above the outer holder 55.

A groove 89 is formed in an outer circumference of the driving block 85and a release lever 91 is provided in this groove 89 so as to beturnable around a shaft 93. In the state where the tapping tool 25 isnot disposed on the upper turret 9 or the adapter 21 for tapping, therelease lever 91 is biased by an elastic body such as a compression coilspring 95, whereby a part of the release lever 91 enters a groove 97formed in an upper end of the outer holder 55 so as to prevent the innerholder 83 and the driving block 85 from rotating relative to the outerholder 55. On the other hand, when the tapping tool 25 is disposed onthe upper turret 9 and the adapter 21 for tapping, another part of therelease lever 91 is pressed and turned by inner walls of the gear holder31 and the ring gear 29, whereby the aforementioned part of the releaselever 91 comes out of the groove 97 formed in the upper end of the outerholder 55 so as to allow the inner holder 83 and the driving block 85 torotate relative to the outer holder 55.

The tap holding mechanism (the tap holder body 73) is provided on alower side of the inside of the shaft 71. The tap holder body 73 isprevented from rotating relative to the shaft 71 as key grooves 99formed in an outer circumference of this tap holder body 73 are engagedwith keys 101 provided to the shaft 71, so that the tap holder body 73can move only for a predetermined distance in the vertical direction.Meanwhile, the tap holder body 73 is biased downward by an elastic bodysuch as a compression coil spring 103. Note that the tap holder body 73(the tap 43) is located at the lowest position relative to the shaft 71in the state shown in FIG. 8.

The shaft 71 is supported, on this lower side, on the outer holder 55through a bearing 107, and is rotatable relative to the outer holder 55(rotatable around the axis CL2) and vertically movable relative to theouter holder 55. Note that the shaft 71 is located at the highestposition relative to the outer holder 55 in the state shown in FIG. 7.

Meanwhile, a ring-like flange 109 is formed at a lower end of the shaft71. A dimension (thickness) in the vertical direction of this flange 109is small. A groove (a notch) 111 is formed in the flange 109. As thisgroove 111 is engaged with a key (a pin) 113 provided to the outerholder 55, the shaft 71 is prevented from rotating relative to the outerholder 55 in the state shown in FIG. 8. Here, when the shaft 71 descendsslightly from the state shown in FIG. 8 relative to the outer holder 55,the groove 111 on the flange 109 is disengaged from the key 113 on theouter holder 55 so that the shaft 71 can rotate relative to the outerholder 55.

The master screw 45 is formed on the outer circumference of anintermediate portion, in the vertical direction, of the shaft 71 andthis master screw 45 is threadedly engaged with the master screw 41 onthe gauge nut 57. Therefore, when the shaft 71 rotates relative to thegauge nut 57, the shaft 71 (the tap 43) moves in the vertical directionrelative to the gauge nut 57 while rotating.

A region on an upper side of the shaft 71 is inside the shaft supporterbody 75. Meanwhile, a key 115 is provided at an upper part of the shaft71. As this key 115 is engaged with a key groove 117 provided in theshaft supporter body 75, the shaft 71 is prevented from rotatingrelative to the shaft supporter body 75 but is rendered movable in thevertical direction relative to the shaft supporter body 75.

A lower end of the shaft supporter body 75 is supported so as to berotatable relative to the gauge nut 57 through a bearing such as athrust bearing 120. Here, when a downward force is applied to thepressing body 81 in the state shown in FIG. 8, the force thus applied istransmitted to the gauge nut 57 via a bearing 119, the lower-sidepressing-body supporter body 77, the shaft supporter body 75, and thebearing 120, thereby contracting the lifer spring 65 and allowing thegauge nut 57 (the shaft 71) to move downward.

The lower side of the shaft supporter body 75 is inside the inner holder83 and the shaft supporter body 75 can move vertically relative to theinner holder 83. Meanwhile, the key 115 provided at the upper part ofthe shaft 71 is also engageable with a key groove 121 that is providedin an inner circumference of the inner holder 83.

Specifically, in the state shown in FIG. 8, the key 115 provided at theupper part of the shaft 71 is located above the key groove 121 in theinner holder 83 and therefore separated from this key groove 121.However, when a downward force is applied to the pressing body 81 in thestate shown in FIG. 8, the shaft supporter body 75 and the shaft 71descend relative to the inner holder 83. Accordingly, the key 115provided at the upper part of the shaft 71 is engaged with the keygroove 121 in the inner holder 83, and the key groove 111 at the lowerpart of the shaft 71 is separated from the key 113 on the outer holder55. Hence, the shaft 71 (the shaft supper body 75 and the tap 43) isallowed to rotate by way of rotation of the inner holder 83 (the drivingblock 85). Moreover, since the master screws 41 and 45 are threadedlyengaged with each other, the shaft 71 (the tap 43) is allowed to descendby way of rotation of the shaft 71.

The lower-side pressing-body supporter body 77 is integrally provided onan upper end of the shaft supporter body 75. The pressing body 81 isrotatably provided above the lower-side pressing-body supporter body 77via the bearing such as the thrust bearing 119 mentioned previously.Meanwhile, the ring-like upper-side pressing-body supporter body 79 isintegrally provided in the vicinity of an upper part of the lower-sidepressing-body supporter body 77. The pressing body 81 is pressed by thisupper-side pressing-body supporter body 79 and is thereby prevented frombeing separated upward from the lower-side pressing-body supporter body77.

Here, outside diameters of the pressing-body supporter bodies 77 to and79 are set slightly smaller than an inside diameter of the ring gear 29and an inside diameter of the through-hole 21A of the gear holder 31.Moreover, by pressing the tapping tool 25 downward by use of the striker15 in the state of being disposed on the mounting section 33 of theupper turret 9 and the adapter 21 for tapping, the pressing-bodysupporter bodies 77 and 79 as well as the pressing body 81 are allowedto enter the inside of the ring gear 29 and of the through-hole 21A onthe gear holder 31.

Meanwhile, outside diameters of the driving block 85 and the outerholder 55 are set slightly smaller than an inside diameter of thethrough-hole of the mounting section 33 of the upper turret 9, theinside diameter of the ring gear 29, and the inside diameter of thethrough-hole 21A of the gear holder 31 so that the tapping tool 25 canbe inserted to and disposed in the mounting section 33 of the upperturret 9 and the adapter 21 for tapping.

A key (a pin) 123 is provided to and protrudes from the outercircumference of the driving block 85. When this key 123 enters a keygroove 125 formed in an inner circumference of the ring gear 29 and getsengaged therewith (see FIG. 11), the driving block 85 is allowed torotate along with rotation of the ring gear 29.

Note that a groove 127 for the key 123 on the driving block 85 to enteris also formed inside the through-hole 21A of the gear holder 31. Thekey 123 on the driving block 85 of the tapping tool 25 located on theleft side in FIG. 11 is engaged with the groove 127 provided in thethrough-hole 21A of the gear holder 31. Accordingly, the driving block85 does not rotate along with rotation of the ring gear 29 on the leftside in FIG. 11. However, by pressing the pressing body 81 downward, thedriving block 85 on the left side in FIG. 11 moves downward and isengaged with the key groove 125 in the ring gear 29 so as to allow thedriving block 85 to rotate along with rotation of the ring gear 29.

In the tapping tool 25 shown on the right side in FIG. 11, the key 123on the driving block 85 is engaged with the key groove 125 formed insidethe ring gear 29. Accordingly, the driving block 85 is allowed to rotatealong with rotation of the ring gear 29 even in the state shown in FIG.11. Further, in the tapping tool 25 shown on the right side in FIG. 11,the key 123 on the driving block 85 remains engaged with the key groove125 in the ring gear 29 even when the pressing body 81 is presseddownward and the driving gear 85 moves downward.

Moreover, when the pressing body 81 is pressed downward in the stateshown in FIG. 11, the shaft supporter body 75 and the shaft 71 also movedownward, whereby the key groove 111 at the lower part of the shaft 71is disengaged from the key 113 on the outer holder 55 and the key 115provided at the upper part of the shaft 71 is engaged with the keygroove 121 in the inner holder 83. Hence a rotative force of the ringgear 29 (the driving block 85 and the inner holder 83) is transmitted tothe shaft 71 (the tap 43) so that the shaft 71 can move downward whilerotating.

Now, the adapter 21 for tapping will be described further.

Among the four ring gears 29, the tooth portions of a pair of ring gears29 on a diagonal line (the ring gear 29A on the lower left side shown inFIG. 10 and the ring gear 29C on the upper right side shown in FIG. 10)are located higher like the ring gear 29A shown on the right side inFIG. 11. Meanwhile, among the four ring gears 29, the tooth portions ofa pair of ring gears 29 on the other diagonal line (the ring gear 29B onthe upper left side shown in FIG. 10 and the ring gear 29D on the lowerright side shown in FIG. 10) are located lower like the ring gear 29Dshown on the left side in FIG. 11. Meanwhile, in the plan view, theintermediate gear 35 is located inward of the four ring gears 29 asshown in FIG. 10.

Moreover, an adapter 23 for tapping-unit rotational drive is providedabove the upper turret 9 and in the vicinity of the inside of theadapter 21 for tapping (the inside of the upper turret 9 in thecircumferential direction). The adapter 23 for tapping-unit rotationaldrive is provided with multiple (two, for example) rotation input shafts129 (129A and 129B) and these two rotation input shafts 129 areinterlocked and connected with an output gear 133 via a gear train 131.Moreover, the output gear 133 is rotated by inputting a rotative forcefrom an actuator (not shown) provided in the turret punch press 1 to oneinput shaft out of the two input shafts 129. As shown in FIG. 10, theoutput gear 133 is meshed with the ring gear 29C out of the four ringgears 29.

In this way, when a rotative force is inputted to the rotation inputshaft 129, the ring gears 29 rotate in the same direction at the sameturning angle velocity.

Meanwhile, the outer holder 55, the driving block 85, the release lever91, the key 123, and the pressing-body supporter bodies 77 and 79 aremade of insulators that block electricity, or alternatively, surfaces ofthe outer holder 55, the driving block 85, the release lever 91, the key123, and the pressing-body supporter bodies 77 and 79 are covered withinsulative coatings. Hence, the rotating body 39 (the tap 43) iselectrically insulated from the adapter 21 for tapping and the mountingsections 33 of the upper turret 9 when the tapping tools 25 are disposedin the through-holes of the gear holder 31, the through-holes of thering gears 29, and the mounting sections 33 of the upper turret 9.

Next, operations of the turret punch press 1 will be described byreferring to FIG. 11 to FIG. 14(b).

First, as shown in FIG. 11, as an initial state, the upper turret 9, thestriker 15, and the workpiece W subjected to a pilot hole process arelocated at predetermined positions. Here, it is assumed that therotating bodies 39 of the tapping tools 25 are located at the ascendingends and no rotative force is inputted to the adapter 23 fortapping-unit rotational drive.

In the initial state, when the striker 15 of the turret punch press 1descends under control of an unillustrated control device and pressesdown the rotating body 39 of the tapping tool 25 shown on the right sidein FIG. 12, the lifter springs 59 and 65 are contracted, and therotating body 39 of the tapping tool 25 on the right side descends as aconsequence.

Subsequently, when the rotating body 39 is rotated by way of the adapter23 for tapping-unit rotational drive, the lifer spring 65 is contractedand the tap 43 performs tapping on the workpiece W as shown on the rightside in FIG. 13.

Thereafter, the rotating body 39 is inversely rotated by way of theadapter 23 for tapping-unit rotational drive to establishing the stateshown in FIG. 12, and the workpiece W is moved and positioned to performsubsequent tapping. The subsequent tapping is carried out after thismoving and positioning procedure.

The above-described operations are shown in a timechart in FIG. 14(a).

Here, in FIG. 14(a) and FIG. 14(b), PL denotes a pass line where theworkpiece W travels, a vertical axis direction TH in the drawingsdenotes a tap height, a horizontal axis direction T in the drawingsdenotes time, RS denotes ram stroke, TR denotes tap rotation, and XMdenotes axial movement.

Note that it is also possible to inversely rotate the rotating body 39after performing one tapping to establish the state shown in FIG. 12,then to move the striker 15 of the turret punch press 1 upward toestablish the state shown in FIG. 11, and thereafter to perform thesubsequent tapping (see FIG. 14(b)).

The above-mentioned description of the operations exemplifies the caseof performing tapping by using the tapping tool that is disposed in thering gear 29A out of the four tapping tools. However, it is alsopossible to perform tapping on the workpiece W by using a differenttapping tool 25 such as the tapping tool disposed in the ring gear 29D.

According to the turret punch press 1, it is possible to dispose thetapping tools 25 on the upper turret 9 and use the tapping tools 25 bydisposing, on the upper turret 9, the adapter 21 for tapping that ismountable on the upper turret 9. Meanwhile, if the adapter 21 fortapping is detached from the upper turret 9, then it is possible todispose punching tools on the upper turret 9 and use the punching tools.Hence, it is possible to handle various processes easily by using thesingle turret punch press 1.

Moreover, according to the adapter 21 for tapping, there are the regionswhere the ring gears 29 overlap one another. These overlapping regionsenable the downsizing of the adapter 21 for tapping and thereby spacesaving can be achieved.

Incidentally, the adapter 21 for tapping is usable not only as theadapter dedicated for the tapping tools but also as the adapter for thepunching tools.

Specifically, it is possible to handle various processes by detachingthe adapter 21 for tapping and directly disposing the punching tools onthe upper turret 9 as described above; instead of this, it is alsopossible to insert and dispose the punching tools into the adapter 21for tapping in lieu of the tapping tools 25 without detaching theadapter 21 for tapping.

In this case (when the punching tools are inserted and disposed intothis adapter 21 for tapping in lieu of the tapping tools 25), a rotativeforce is not transmitted to any of the punching tools by rotating thering gears 29 because the punching tools are not provided with the pins123 to be engaged with the key grooves 125 formed in the innercircumference of the ring gears 29. Hence, the punching tools canperform punching at predetermined angles and in predetermined toolshapes without being rotated.

Meanwhile, it is also possible to use the adapter 21 for tapping as theadapter for both of tapping and punching by inserting the tapping toolsinto two of the four stations of the adapter 21 for tapping andinserting the punching tools into the other two stations on the adapter21 for tapping, so as to be able to handle various processes.Specifically, it is possible to dispose the tapping tools in somestations of the multiple stations on the adapter 21 for tapping and toinsert the punching tools to some other stations thereof.

Meanwhile, since the rotating body 39 of the tapping tool 25 does notrotate in the state where the tapping tool 25 is taken out of the upperturret 9, it is not necessary to align a turning angle (a phase) of therotating body 39 relative to the cylindrical body 37 of the tapping tool25 when disposing the tapping tool 25 on the upper turret 9. Hence, itis possible to dispose the tapping tool 25 on the upper turret 9 easily.

Meanwhile, when the tapping tool 25 is mounted on the upper turret 9,the rotating body 39 of the tapping tool 25 and the tap 43 disposed onthis rotating body 39 are electrically insulated from the upper turret9. Accordingly, when performing, for example, tapping on the workpieceW, it is possible to detect contact of the tap 43 with the workpiece Wby use of a touch sensor.

Next, a tap die based on the present invention which is used incooperation with the tapping tool described in the above embodiment willbe described by using the drawings.

First, referring to FIG. 15 to FIG. 18(b), as similar to a general tapdie, a tap die 301 according to the embodiment of the present inventionincludes a cylindrical die body 303 to be mounted in a detachablyreplaceable manner on a die holder (not shown) in the punch press.Moreover, an inner cylinder 307, which includes a tap contact member 305to be pressed downward by the tap 43 being rotatably and verticallymovably provided to the tap tool 25 (see FIG. 11), is located insidethis tap body 3 so as to be vertically movable and to be biased upward.

To be more precise, the die body 303 is mounted in a detachablyreplaceable manner into a die mounting hole (not shown) provided to thedie holder while retaining a tiny gap therebetween. A circumferentialgroove 309 corresponding to a communication port (not shown) that isopen so as to communicate with the die mounting hole is formed in anouter circumferential surface of this die body 303. Moreover, an airsupply port 311 communicating with the circumferential groove 309 andpenetrating inward through the die body 303 are formed in multiplepositions on the die body 303. The communication port (not shown) isconnected to an air source (not shown) through a connecting path (notshown) and this connecting path is provided with a flow switch (notshown) representing an example of a fluid sensor for detecting presenceand absence of an air flow.

The flow switch performs an ON operation when a large amount of air isflowing through the connecting path and performs an OFF operation when alarge amount of air is not flowing through the connecting path. Notethat the flow switch is so provided as not to perform the ON operationby presence of a small amount of an air flow that flows out of the tinygap between the die mounting hole and the die body 303. Therefore, it ispossible to detect whether or not a large amount of air is flowingthrough the connecting path, on the basis of the ON operation and theOFF operation of the flow switch. Note that the flow switch may be onewith a publicly-known configuration and detailed description of theconfiguration of the flow switch will be omitted herein.

The inner cylinder 307 being vertically movably provided inside the diebody 303 is so formed that its outside diameter is nearly equal toinside diameters of the die body 303 and a hold ring 315, which isdetachably attached to an upper part of the die body 303 by use offixtures 313 such as bolts, in order to prevent chips from coming into(entering) the gap between the die body 303 and the inner cylinder 307.Specifically, clearances among the die body 303, the hold ring 315, andthe inner cylinder 307 are formed into tiny clearances so as to avoidentrance of chips. Moreover, an upper end (an upper surface) 307U of theinner cylinder 307 nearly coincides with an upper end (an upper surface)315U of the hold ring 315 in a normal state.

In order to bias the inner cylinder 307 always upward relative to thedie body 303, an elastic member 319 such for example as a coil spring(see FIG. 18(b)) is elastically set between anti-rotation keys 317provided in multiple positions on the inner cylinder 307 and a bottompart of the die body 303. Moreover, the anti-rotation keys 317 come intocontact with a lower surface of the hold ring 315 to block detachmentupward.

The tap contact member 305 is formed of a plate material which iselongated in an orthogonal direction to a shaft center of the innercylinder 307 (a radial direction) and is attached to an upper end sideof the inner cylinder 307. To be more precise, the tap contact member305 is in a state where its protrusions on both ends are engaged with anengagement groove 321 formed radially in an upper part of the innercylinder 307. The tap contact member 305 detachably attachable bylocking screws 323 threadedly engaged with the inner cylinder 307 in theradial direction.

An upper surface 305U of the tap contact member 305 is provided at alower position than the upper end 307U of the inner cylinder 307.Moreover, the upper surface 305U is formed into a curved surface whoseboth ends in the thickness direction of the tap contact member 305 arelower so that the chips can fall easily. Further, a width dimension ofthe tap contact member 305 in the vertical direction is set greater thanthe thickness dimension thereof in order to prevent chips from twining.To be more precise, the width dimension of the tap contact member 305 inthe vertical direction is set to be several times to about dozen timesas large as the thickness dimension thereof in order to prevent chips,which are generated in a long helical shape as a result of tapping withthe tap provided to the tap tool, from twining or tangling.

Upper and lower communicating portions 325A and 325B communicativelyconnectable to and disconnectable from the air supply ports 311 providedto the die body 303 are provided in an outer circumferential surface ofthe inner cylinder 307. To be more precise, the communicating portions325A and 325B are formed in the following manner: a concave portion 325elongated in the vertical direction is formed in the outercircumferential surface of the inner cylinder 307 in regionscorresponding to the air supply ports 311; and a tong-shaped landportion 325C serving as a convex portion is provided at an intermediateportion, in the vertical direction, of the concave portion 325 tothereby partition a portion located on one side of the concave portion325 into the communicating portion 325A and the communicating portion325B. Moreover, air ejection holes 327 (see FIG. 18(a)) directeddownward are provided in an inner circumferential surface of the innercylinder 307 so as to communicate with the concave portions 325.

According to this configuration, even in the configuration to partitionthe communicating portions 325A and 325B vertically, the air ejectionport 327 is common due to the configuration in which the communicatingportions 325A and 325B are provided to the one-side portions of theconcave portion 325. Hence, it is possible to simplify theconfiguration.

In the above-described configuration, in the state where the tap die 301is mounted into the die mounting hole of the die holder provided to thepunch press, the inner cylinder 307 is in the state of being lifted tothe uppermost position by the biasing force of the elastic member 319 asshown in FIG. 17(a) to FIG. 18(b). The upper end (the upper surface)307U of the inner cylinder 307 is in the state of nearly coinciding withthe upper end of the die body 303, i.e., the upper end (the uppersurface) 315U of the hold ring 315. Moreover, the air supply ports 311provided to the die body 303 are in the state of communicating with thecommunicating portions 325B on the lower side of the concave portions325 formed in the outer circumferential surface of the inner cylinder307 as shown in FIGS. 17(a) and 17(b).

Accordingly, the air supplied from the air source is directed andejected from the air ejection holes 327 provided to the inner cylinder307 in the downward direction into the inner cylinder 307, therebycausing an action to suction the air from the upper part of the innercylinder 307 into the inner cylinder 307. Meanwhile, the flow switchserving as the fluid sensor provided to the connecting path connected tothe air source is in the ON-operation state.

A pilot hole in the workpiece is positioned above the tap die 301 whenthe inner cylinder 307 is in the state of being lifted to the uppermostposition as described above. Then, the tap tool is moved down to apredetermined height position by use of the ram (the striker) providedto the punch press in order to perform tapping on this pilot hole. Afterthe workpiece is pressed and fixed to the upper surface of the hold ring315 on the tap die 301 by using this tap tool or while maintaining thetap tool in a state of being slightly separated from the workpiece, thetap provided to the tap tool is rotated and moved downward. As a result,the tapping is performed on the pilot hole in the workpiece with the tapas similar to a conventional typical tap tool.

In performing the tapping on the pilot hole in the workpiece asdescribed above, as a lower end of the tap 43 comes into contact withthe tap contact member 305, the inner cylinder 307 is moved downgradually against the biasing force of the elastic member 319 as shownin FIGS. 19(b) and 19(c) (note that illustration of the workpiece isomitted in FIG. 19(a) to FIG. 20(b)). Then, the state of communicationbetween the lower communicating portion 325B formed in the outercircumferential surface of the inner cylinder 307 and the air supplyport 311 provided to the die body 303 is gradually interrupted. That is,the communication is blocked when the air supply port 311 faces the landportion 325C.

As described above, when the air supply port 311 provided to the diebody 303 is in the state of facing the land portion 325C of the innercylinder 307 and there is built a state where the communication isblocked because of the air supply portion 311 facing the land portion325C, the rain provided vertically movably to the punch press is in thestate of descending to a predetermined descending position, while thetap provided to the tapping tool is in the state of being rotated by apreset number of revolutions and descending from a predetermined heightposition by a prescribed stroke length in light of a relation betweenthe number of revolutions and the pitch of the tap. Specifically, thisis the moment when the tap 43 and the inner cylinder 307 descend to thelowest positions by the prescribed stroke length. After the tap 43descends to the lowest position as described above, the tap 43 isinversely rotated and the ram is lifted up, thereby completing thetapping on the pilot hole in the workpiece.

Therefore, if the flow switch serving as the fluid sensor performsON-OFF-ON operations when the tap 43 is changed from positive rotationto negative rotation to be lifted up from the lowest descendingposition, it is possible to detect that the tapping is normallyperformed. Here, when the flow switch does not shift to the OFF statebut continues the ON state even if the tap 43 is allowed to descendalong with positive rotation, then it is possible to detect that the taphas not come into contact with the tap contact member 305. Through suchdetection, it is possible to detect that the tap is broken, that the taptool is not provided with the tap, or that the tap is shorter than theprescribed length.

Meanwhile, at the time of operations in which the flow switch shows theON, OFF, and OFF states when the tap 43 operates with positive rotationand negative rotation, it is possible to detect that the tap is in adescending state. Specifically, in this case, it is possible to detectthat the tap is maintaining its position without being detached upwardfrom the workpiece.

Further, at the time of operations in which the flow switch shows theOFF, OFF, and OFF states when the tap 43 operates with positive rotationand negative rotation, it is possible to detect that the inner cylinder307 has already reached the descending state and is in a state of asliding failure.

Moreover, if the state of the flow switch is changed as ON, OFF, and ONwhen the tap 43 descends along with positive rotation, it is possible todetect that the tap provided to the tap tool is the tap having a largerdiameter than that of a prescribed tap, or that the length of the tap islonger than the prescribed length. Specifically, if the tap 43 descendsfrom the state shown in FIG. 19(a) to press down the tap contact member305, the air supply ports 311 provided to the die body 303 are in theblocked state by the land portion 325C of the inner cylinder 307, andthe flow switch is in the OFF operation state in cases of the states ofFIG. 19(c) and FIG. 20(a). If the tap 43 further descends from thisstate to the lowest descending position, the inner cylinder 307 descendsfurther by the tap 43. The upper communication portion 325A in theconcave portion 325 formed in the outer circumferential surface of theinner cylinder 307 communicates with the air supply port 311 provided tothe die body 303, whereby the flow switch is set to the ON state.

Therefore, if the flow switch performs the ON, OFF, and ON operations atthe time of descending action of the tap, it is possible to detect suchoperations as overstroke of the tap. Accordingly, in this case, it isappropriate to replace the tap tool with another tap tool provided withthe prescribed tap or to replace the tap with another tap having theprescribed length.

As described previously, chips generated by performing tapping on thepilot hole in the workpiece fall into the inner cylinder 307. In thiscase, some of the chips tend to remain on the upper surface 305U of thetap contact member 305. However, since the upper surface 305U is formedinto the curved surface whose both ends in the thickness direction ofthe tap contact member 305 are lower. Accordingly, the chips fallwithout remaining on the upper surface 305U. Meanwhile, chips havingrelatively long helical shapes tend to twine and tangle around the tapcontact member 305. However, since the width dimension of the tapcontact member 305 in the vertical direction is formed into a widthdimension large enough to avoid the chips from twining and tangling.Hence, it is possible to prevent the chips from twining and tanglingaround the tap contact member 305.

Furthermore, the inner cylinder 307 is so formed that its outsidediameter is nearly equal to the inside diameter of the tap body 303.Moreover, in the normal state, the upper end (the upper surface) 307U ofthe inner cylinder 307 is retained in the state of nearly coincidingwith the upper end of the tap body, i.e., the upper end (the uppersurface) 315U of the hold ring 315. Therefore, it is possible to performvertical movement of the inner cylinder 307 relative to the tap body 303always smoothly while preventing chips from entering the gap between thetap body 303 and the inner cylinder 307.

As it is understood from the description given above, the tap die 301according to this embodiment improves a discharge performance of chipsgenerated at the time of tapping, whereby smooth vertical movement ofthe inner cylinder 307 relative to the die body 303 will not bedisturbed. Moreover, it is possible to detect the state of air supplyinto the inner cylinder 307 of the tap die 301 with the fluid sensor,and to cause the fluid sensor to perform the ON, OFF, and ON operationswhen the inner cylinder 307 descends by way of the tap of the punchpress. Hence, it is possible to detect overstoke of the tap easily.

Moreover, since the fluid sensor is formed of the flow switch thatdetects the air flow inside the connecting path, it is possible todetect the air flow accurately without being affected by pressurefluctuation unlike a pressure switch. Hence it is possible to accuratelydetect communicative connection to or disconnection from the air supplyports 311 provided to the die body 303.

The entire contents of Japanese Patent Application No. 2008-178029(filed on Jul. 8, 2008), Japanese Patent Application No. 2008-238289(filed on Sep. 17, 2008), and Japanese Patent Application No.2008-238293 (filed on Sep. 17, 2008) are incorporated herein byreference.

The present invention is not limited only to the above description ofthe embodiment of the invention but can be embodied in various otherforms by applying appropriate modifications.

We claim:
 1. A tapping tool mountable on an adapter for tappingincluding: ring gear in which the tapping tool is mountable; and a gearholder in which the ring gear is disposed and which is mountable on aturret of a turret punch press so as to locate the disposed ring gear ata position corresponding to a mounting section of the turret formed inadvance in the turret, the tapping tool comprising: a cylindrical bodyincluding a cylindrical outer holder and a cylindrical gauge nut, amaster screw formed on an inner circumference of the cylindrical gaugenut and being disposed in a through-hole of the ring gear and themounting section of the turret, wherein the cylindrical gauge nut ispositioned within and configured to move vertically with respect to thecylindrical outer holder; and a rotating body being configured to becapable of holding a tap, including a master screw formed on an outercircumference thereof so as to be threadedly engaged with the masterscrew formed on the gauge nut, the rotating body being disposed insidethe cylindrical body by threadedly engaging the master screw thereofwith the master screw on the cylindrical body, rotating along withrotation of the ring gear, and moving in an extending direction of acentral axis of the rotation.
 2. The tapping tool according to claim 1,further comprising: a rotation regulator to regulate rotation of therotating body relative to the cylindrical body when the tapping tool isdetached from the turret.
 3. The tapping tool according to claim 2,wherein the rotating body is configured to be electrically insulatedfrom the adapter for tapping and the turret when the tapping tool isdisposed in the through-hole of the ring gear and the mounting sectionof the turret.
 4. The tapping tool according to claim 3, wherein therotating body is configured to be electrically insulated from theadapter for tapping and the turret when the tapping tool is disposed inthe through-hole of the ring gear and the mounting section of theturret.